Darkness Comes
by Superagaentv
Summary: Round 4 Quidditch League
_There are non-humans galore in Harry Potter, but they're often overlooked or take the back seat. That's just not fair, though, is it? Creatures deserve love, too! So, this round they get the spotlight._

 _There are eight creatures listed below. Each member of the team must choose one - no double claims - as a prompt. You will be writing from the point of view of the creature you choo_

 _You are not limited to writing about canonical characters like Dobby, Hedwig or Firenze, or even from specific creatures that appeared in the series such as the Hungarian Horntail Harry fought. Any creature from any timeline is welcome; the sky's the limit!_

 _Prompt used: Centaur_

 _Word count; 1110_

* * *

 _This place has been my home since before the fledglings arrived so many years ago._

The meadow was deep within the heart of the forest, with gentle rays of sunshine flittering through the tiniest cracks of the canopy as the faint twittering of birds resounded in the early morning silence that came with the resting herd. Blue bonnets vibrated with the soft compression of hooves against the earth as the adults of the herd started to wake.

"Firenze," a young voice whispered, "Firenze, awake."

"Dorian," Firenze grumbled wearily, half asleep. "What is it?"

"I saw something in the forest." Dorian replied, shaking the older centaur with enthusiasm. "I must show you."

"Can it not wait until the herd fully wakes?" Firenze asked, opening on eye to see the concern on the young centaur's face. "What nature does this sight take on?" Dorian, for all his exuberance, was suddenly quiet and downcast. "Dorian?"

"A unicorn." He whispered, leaning in; his tail swishing back and forth with anxiety. "Dead."

Dorian had his full attention now. Opening his eyes, his quickly rose to all fours, his hooves making slight indents in the dewy grass. "Show me," he growled, the sound guttural, "Quickly now."

The young centaur nodded, his long blond hair falling over his shoulder, raising himself up from his half bent position. Leaping backwards, Dorian spun round, leaping through the underbrush silently as Firenze was left to follow. Running, over fallen tree and babbling brooks alike, they moved quickly through the brush; moving further and further from where light touched the earth.

"Dorian, halt." he commanded, "We can go no further in. It is forbidden."

Skidding to a stop at the edge of the darkness, Dorian turned to look back at him with a willful expression. "The Ministry can't take away what wasn't theirs to give."

Raising an eyebrow at the teen, Firenze stamped his front left hoof to make a point. "You must respect what has been put in place."

"Even you don't believe that." He replied, his tone cold. "Those humans seek to rule over us like mindless insects."

"Dorian," Firenze sighed, running his fingers through his hair, knowing nothing would placate this willful urge to embrace what they had lost. "If we break the treaty imposed on us, then it would only enforce what they think of us."

"What does that matter?" the youth growled, rearing; his hooves making deep imprints on the fresh grass. "What good are we if are bound to what others think? Since when did you, Firenze my elder, care more about what the human bureaucracy than the earth around you?"

Suppressing the great urge to slap the young centaur, Firenze looked up to the faint rays of light which lingered far above them; casting shadows on them both. "We must comply to protect this earth," he explained slowly. "-it does not matter if there is light or darkness, wizards and witches or even wasps or bees. Everything is connected. We come from the earth, and one day must return to it – all of us. Each creature in existence has a cosmic tie to one another, to this planet."

A snort and stomp interrupted him. "I am no foal, do not temper me with this speech."

"If I need to speak such words means you yet do not grasp the seriousness of the problem." Firenze stated flatly.

"It is about what is right!" Dorian shouted, causing an eerie silence to fall around them – as if the birds had all but flown away. "If we do not push back against this unjust cruelty, we might as well line up to be shackled and placed within a museum." The youth turned sharply to leap into the dark foliage, trotting over some moss at a slow speed – waiting for him to follow.

"Dorian," he warned, his temper flaring. "Do not move one more hoof."

"We both know I can't do that." Dorian replied, his voice trailing off as he moved further in.

Letting out a frustrated growl, Firenze clenched his fists as his tail swished from side to side; hitting his rump with the full weight of his frustration. The herd would not approve, nor understand.

The safety of the herd came first.

The preservation of their range came first.

 _He is not wrong_ , Firenze mind beat against the logic and reason of the herd, _he is not wrong at all._

Looking back, over his shoulder, Firenze wondered how severe the punishment would be if he followed the willful hoof prints into the dark depths of the forest. Magorian would issue a swift – albeit just – punishment for them both, he was sure, though it seemed to pale against the threat of Dorian's discovery.

If a unicorn had indeed been slain then it was a grave day with the forest, for them all.

Who was he to ignore such a worrying sign?

 _It would be wrong to ignore it,_ he decided, _and Dorian cannot venture further without me._

Shifting his focus back to the image of the young centaur in the dark, Firenze leapt forward; landing easily in the thick foliage. Running to catch up, he caught a whiff of something afoul in the air – it reminded him of molding moss upon a familiar grave, but it provided no comfort. This smell of death was laced with an evil that made the hair on his body stand on end.

"I knew you would come." Dorian whispered, watching him approach. "It is this way."

"When did you discover this?" Firenze asked, ducking his head to miss a low lying branch.

"Early this morning," the youth replied, "I was by the edge of the light when I heard a scream like no other echo through the forest." he shuddered, as if the memory itself was horrible enough to render him mute. "Before I knew it, I was running towards the sound. That is when I saw it, the poor creature."

"It is a grave thing to witness," Firenze admitted, "In all my years, I have never laid sight to a fallen innocent."

"You must steel yourself," Dorian whispered, "For it is far worse than anything imagination can conjure."

Nodding, Firenze stayed close with the youth as they moved through the forest, dread flooding him as they approached the scene. Holding out an arm, he stopped the young centaur from getting closer. "Quickly now, it is not safe, back to the group."

"But we only just- "

"We must alert the herd," he growled, his voice heavy with a shadow of what was to come. "The danger will return."

 _Never have I seen such evil in a time with so much hope._


End file.
